For the record, I have no problems with feuds spanning over multiple pay-per-views. Jumping from feud to feud based solely on the fact that there is another marquee event isn’t a formula that should be followed, and I’m glad that we have mostly moved away from all of that. However, I do have a problem when it seems like a feud has ended, and because there is no real idea of what to do with people, the feud just continues.

That was one of my main gripes with the October 22 episode of “AEW Dynamite.” Fresh off a pay-per-view like AEW WrestleDream 2025 where we saw the fifth match between Kyle Fletcher and Mark Briscoe, and the “I Quit” match between Darby Allin and Jon Moxley, “Dynamite” gave us no signs of anything new on the horizon and instead decided to hint at the fact that two of the feuds that looked to be over on the weekend are somehow still going.

Part of the reason why Darby and Moxley headlined WrestleDream was because it was built as the final showdown, the ultimate example of violence, the most wince-inducing match this side of the millennium, and it ended with the hero conquering the villain in the exact way that they had laid out in the build up. Outside of the fact that St. Louis didn’t allow them to bleed all over each other, there is really no need to keep the Darby and Moxley story going, and while they seem to have a neat direction for Moxley, Darby being like “As long as the Death Riders exist I’m not finished with you” doesn’t really seem like inspired booking. They are an inspired pairing for sure, but that story has been told for now. Move forward, not sideways.

The Briscoe and Fletcher situation is even more frustrating because their whole deal was that Briscoe had Fletcher’s number, but as time went on, Fletcher grew in confidence and now has beaten Briscoe in their series three wins to two. Tony Khan probably wasn’t going for a best-of-five series when he booked them for a match in June 2024, but the way it naturally ended up like that was such a good way to finish it. However, Briscoe wants one more match, and, thankfully, Don Callis said no to that offer, and it should stay that way, giving Fletcher something new and different heading into the final few months of the year. He’s proven he’s better than Briscoe, let’s leave it there. This was a great show, all things considered, but the direction of some of the top stars in the company just seems a bit uninspired.

Written by Sam Palmer